I love art journaling in the tiny 4" x 4" pocket journals I've hand-sewn! So I was delighted to see that artist Rae Missigman was hosting ART MARKS a sweet challenge on Instagram this month! It is a 28-day challenge of art journaling, inspiration and self care.

Today I'm sharing what I created in my art journal for days one to five:

I'm layering lots of collage, acrylics, inks, and stencils from StencilGirl Products in these pages!
So very grateful to Rae for hosting this challenge.

You can follow me on Instagram at www.instagram.com/marycnasser.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!
​I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I have been having loads of fun painting papers with Traci Bautista's new Soulful Scribbles stencils from StencilGirl Products! I'm excited to incorporate and collage these into my art journal pages! Painting papers for days feels absolutely amazing! I love layering colors and stencils, textures and marks!

Going Global Small measures 6" x 6" and works wonderfully in combination
with its companion stencil: Going Global (large)!

In my art journal page below, I incorporated both my Going Global Small and Going Global Large stencils
so you could see the size/scale of the new stencil compared to the larger version,
and how well they complement each other!

I find inspiration in vintage atlases I collect, fascinated by the antiquated pages and the ideas of time and travel they contain. Maps and cartographic elements are repeating motifs in my work because I love both the concept and imagery of maps.

Check out all my stencils at StencilGirl Products to find even more travel and map designs perfect for use with this new stencil!

​Thanks so much for visiting my blog and celebrating my new stencil release with me!

Welcome to Day TWO of the StencilGirl Products & Mixed Media Inspiration Deck™ Blog Hop!

Kiala Givehand's Mixed Media Inspiration Deck™ Empowerment Edition is a set of 90 inspirational cards designed to inspire your mixed media and art journaling practice. And what a delight they are!

I shuffled my deck, dealt myself cards, and let my muse take over for the fun!
The deck truly helped me to work more quickly, and therefore more intuitively,
​and I thoroughly enjoyed the process!

Working in my small Dylusions Creative Journal,
I began by adding a light layer of heavy white gesso to the pages with an old gift card. 

Next I sprayed and dripped Marabu Acrylic Art Spray in Caribbean from different edges of the pages.
I rolled my brayer into wet yellow heavy body acrylic, then rolled over the surface in different directions.

I grabbed Traci Bautista's new Soulful Scribbles Let Go stencil from StencilGirl Products,
​and sprayed Marabu Acrylic Art Spray in Petrol through the stencil.

I added ephemera, including Traci Bautista's artist papers, underpaper I made with Mary Beth Shaw's
Web of Roses stencil. I added word stickers, too.

I scribbled words in black permanent ink and in white acrylic with my fine-liner.
​Then more acrylic paint through Traci Bautista's Soulful Scribbles Dot Dash stencil.

After that, I used black heavy body acrylic paint to cover some of the surface.

Lastly, I got to doodle my heart out!

​Below is a photo of the entire spread:

And a detail photo of the lower right-hand corner:

What do you have to do to enter?
Just leave a comment below by Sunday, January 14th at 11:59PM Central Time.
Then hop to the other participating blogs listed below to see more inspiring artwork and comment, too!
The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to WIN!
One winner will be chosen at random from all blog comments!
(One comment per blog please.)

Winner will be announced on
StencilGirl's Facebook page on Monday, January 15th.

Today's Blog Hop Order:
Mary C. Nasser – you are here!
Sherry Canino – go here next!​
Louise Nelson
Torrie Gass

Day ONE Blog Hop Order:
Mary Beth Shaw
Kiala Givehand
Tina Walker
Belen Sotelo

StencilGirl stencils and Emerald Creek embossing powders are a match made in heaven!
And I’m delighted to be sharing my modular art made with both!

For this piece, I started with an 8” x 8” canvas layered with collage, acrylics, and inks.
StencilGirl stencils in the background are: Mary Beth Shaw’s Curvy Lattice, Rae Missigman’s Repetition,
my Just Plane Fun paper airplanes, and Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch’s String stencil.
​
I saved the Emerald Creek embossing powders for the focal points: the 3 modular pieces I attached to the canvas!

For the most dominant area, I placed Carolyn Dube’s Now Is The Time Small stencil onto a 1.25” x 2.5” piece of painted and collaged masonite. Then I pressed my craft sponge onto the surface of a VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad, then pounced through the stencil onto the masonite.

​I removed the stencil, poured on Fine Candy Turquoise embossing powder (Yum!),
tapped off the excess powder, and heated it with my embossing heat tool.

I love the dimension and contrast the heated embossing powder creates!
​I outlined the letters in black ink to add a dark value around the bright turquoise.

Then I repeated the process: this time with Seth Apter’s Urban Insiders Star stencil and
​Charred Gold embossing powder onto a metal surface cut with Seth’s Outlaw Die and colored with ink.
Afterwards, I added more mark-making with metallic gel pens.​

I love the texture!

I continued this process for a third time with Seth Apter's Urban Insiders Circle stencil
and Gun Metal embossing powder onto his circular Wood Chips I'd painted first with acrylic.
The heated powder is breathtaking!

Needless to say, I see a lot more of this dynamic duo in my future!
It was an absolute blast combining Emerald Creek embossing powders with StencilGirl stencils
on masonite, metal, and wood!

What do you have to do to enter?
Just leave a comment below by Tuesday, December 19th at 11:59PM Central Time.
The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to WIN!
One winner will be chosen at random from all blog comments!
(One comment per blog please.)

You have until Tuesday, December 19th at 11:59PM Central Time to leave your comments. 
Winner will be announced on
StencilGirl's Facebook page on Wednesday, December 20th.

Today's Blog Hop Order:
Gwen Lafleur
Mary C. Nasser – you are here!
Julia Chupik – go here next!​
Claudia Neubacher

Day ONE Blog Hop Order:
Seth Apter
Mary Beth Shaw
Kim Evans
Vicki Evans